Led by Amelia Lake and Chloe Bines, the Real Food Garden is a sustainable food-growing project that began almost nine years ago when the pair wanted to fill a gap in the market, offering quality, seasonal ingredients to their local patch, which includes Bodmin, Lostwithiel, St Columb Major and Wadebridge.

We met head grower Amelia on a cold, sunny day, where the market garden was a hive of activity. In the growing world, the jobs don’t stop!

Their weekly veg boxes, distributed around Bodmin on Fridays, are carefully put together using seasonal produce straight from the soil. On site, the Real Food Garden has a farm shop where customers can park up and have a browse of the homegrown vegetables, their own free range meat, sweet treats, gifts and snacks available. With a self-service checkout, the shopping experience is very much based on honesty.

Amelia explained: “We love working with people with the same ethos as us, so much of our produce in the shop is organic or locally sourced. The farm shop is self-service, it requires honesty and respect - Cornish people are great, so we have no worries.”

The project adopts a ‘no dig’ method and avoids the use of chemicals. This is all part of the Real Food Garden’s mission to ‘nourish people and place’, by improving biodiversity and offsetting their carbon footprint. The method, which follows organic principles, helps to improve the soil and suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, resulting in nutrient-dense, high quality vegetables. The team’s dedication to sustainable food production has even been recognised at the Cornwall Sustainability Awards, where they were named the runners up in the Growing Green category.

Amelia said: “It’s about doing our bit for the planet and fighting climate change. We don’t ship anywhere else, so all our produce stays in Cornwall, which is really important to us. Our aim is to serve mid-Cornwall. I grew up in Cornwall, and we all deserve to eat good quality food. We’re really passionate about ensuring our local customers are able to access and eat good food every day.”

Adding another string to their bow, the team recently planted 110 apple trees, and also plan on creating a nut orchard this winter. Having worked for both the Eden Project and RHS previously, Amelia’s background in horticulture and agriculture means the project can continue to work in ways that benefit the environment.

Planting trees, ensuring the highest quality of the soil and maintaining their woodland means the land at the Real Food Garden is a haven for wildlife and nature. Even their own animals do their bit and ‘muck in’!

“We look at the farm holistically,” Amelia said. “The chickens provide quality manure, the pigs do the work of a plough in the fields, we keep cattle at Helman Tor for livestock grazing, and pigs on Cornwall Wildlife Trust land. We want the livestock to benefit the land and the wildlife.”

While it’s certainly hard work throughout the year, Amelia explained that there is no better feeling than to eat fresh, seasonal ingredients. With this in mind, it is now more important than ever to support local farmers and producers as much as possible.

“We do feel much more connected to the seasons; this life allows us to be,” she said. “When people support their local producers and farmers, I think everyone wins because you get to make incredible connections and relationships. You can also hold businesses accountable and understand more about the way your food is produced, and small businesses are really flexible in a way that big companies are not. The better we can make our local economy, the better it will be for our children in the future.”

While Amelia and Chloe are at the helm of the Real Food Garden, they are supported by a small team, including two trainees working towards their certificates in regenerative agriculture. Amelia added: “It’s not just about supporting the local economy, it’s also about providing opportunities for people living in Cornwall, and offering a service to local people. We’ve got older customers who don’t want to drive very far anymore, and our farm shop is a great way for them to get what they need on their doorstep.”

For more information about the Real Food Garden, go to www.realfoodgarden.co.uk.

The team holds regular events, which welcome the public to the farm to see how they operate, and the farm shop is open seven days a week. Find them on Facebook and Instagram @realfoodgarden.

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